Revenge served cold

The Count of Monte Cristo is a tale synonymous with revenge and known to all and sundry. So the 2024 French rendition has to live up to a high degree of thespianism and emotional intensity - and it does, by and large. Edmond Dantes (Pierre Niney) son of the stable hand finds himself separated from his lady love Mercedes (Anais Demoustier) and - just like that - he gets labelled as a Bonapartist and ends up in the dread of Chateau d'if. An encounter over years with one Abbe Faria leads to a second coming and just desserts to Villefort (Laurent Laffite), de Morceau (Bestien Bouillon) and Danglars (Patrick Mille). Sans some sympathy for the attachment of the younger Morceau with Haydee (Anamaria Vartolomei) the new Count is as decisive and ruthless as the circumstances that brought him to the brink of extinction 

Available on Amazon Prime 

15.5/20

Deccan Trap

 Chhava is the story of Maratha pride. Sambhaji (Vicky Kaushal), son of Shivaji, is the heir to his father’s throne, however, there is much intrigue and betrayal within the palace gates which Aurangzeb (Akshaye Khanna) and his armies try to exploit. In one of the finest examples of sustained guerilla warfare the proud Marathas held back the Mughal armies for a quarter of a century, with the Mughal ruler eventually passing away in the Deccan. The torture and death of Sambhaji at the hands of the Mughals only accelerated the sunset over the Mughal empire. Vicky Kaushal is great aggression and heart as Chhava (Hindi, Lion cub), while Akshaye Khanna delivers a sterling performance as Aurangzeb

 16/20

Who is India

 The (deliberately) deceptively named "Emergency"(Hindi) should have been titled Indira but I guess that just does not draw the requisite eyeballs. It may also be the reason why we sat to the movie in an empty theater in its third week - provocative works for some but may not gel with many. For the most part the movie is highly commending of Indira (Kangana Ranaut) - her initiatives whether it be in Assam to stem refugee movement, her taking Nixon head on, Pokhran, Bangladesh related decisiveness and in general being a highly popular leader. The movie puts the bogey of emergency, mass sterilizations and Bhindranwale largely on Sanjay Gandhi (Vishak Nair) and a fragile mind of Indira at that time. Unable to deal with the pressure of a growing Janata Party and the pressure of her own delusions the Iron Lady of India caves in to a series of catastrophic misadventures that costs her her seat and eventually her life. A decent biopic for a run through history, but some overacting on the part of the lead actor takes the sheen off somewhat - the movie lacks the high quality thespianism required to pull this one off into something truly memorable

14.5/20 

An Age before an Age

 It was only a matter of time before the ferocious warriors of the LOTR universe made their debut in the language of anime. Director Kenji Kamiyama launches into the world of the Rohirrim (otherwise known as the Riders of Rohan). Hera (Gaia Wise, daughter of Emma Thompson in the real world) is the daughter of the redoubtable Rohan king Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox). Freca (a renegade lord) and his son Wulf (Luca Pasqualino) find themselves at the wrong end of a rebellion - Freca loses his life and the banished Wulf launches a retaliatory attack from Isengard on the Rohan stronghold of Hornburg (soon to be called Helm's Deep). The feisty Hera leads the Rohirrim into a battle and the last stand sets the stage for much valor of old. For a movie in simple anime format the execution is a delight - one of tomboyish fair and fierce maidens and brave warriors with flowing hair reminiscent of the samurai. With cameos by the eagles, Saruma, Gandalf (of sorts) and the Mumlak among many other, The Lord of the Rings - The War of the Rohirrim is a sheer delight for fans of the Tolkien universe who also get by with anime

16/20

Marcus Aurelius' garbled dream

Somewhere in the middle of the movie Gladiator 2, somebody makes the eponymous quote for the umpteenth time - "Marcus Aurelius had a dream that was Rome"... To which somebody speaks up and says.... "And what was the dream again?"

And that, to my mind, is the essence of the movie. Good visual effects, great in parts, as may be expected. Some very riveting action sequences. Paul Mescal as the Gladiator lacks the intensity and charisma of Russell Crowe (but admittedly a tough act to follow so lets cut him some slack). But overall we have no sense of gravitas or purpose. The difficult circumstances that brought Hanno aka Lucius to the arena do not seem to be reflected in his periodic grinning.

We lose all hope in screenplay - especially in the second half - that is resplendent more of Age of Empires than serious intrigue, and interspersed with characters like Ravi (the doctor from Varanasi who is communicating between two Roman armies). Or the key character Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who suddenly, in a paroxysm of ambition, takes on the mission of overthrowing the Roman monarchy altogether. All in all, extremely confusing second half.

But well, given the movie is so close to my heart and that of a few kindred men, I would still say go and watch the movie. Do not expect this movie to hold a candle to Gladiator 1 in any manner, but rather a very different movie, a very light Gen Z-style Gladiator Lite version 

14/20

Beast Noir

It seems The Beast (La Bete (French)) is a movie that's very hard to describe. We have Lea Seydoux. Across 3 entirely different existences. And the doomed relationship with a man who is obsessed with her. And the pigeon that is the harbinger of death.

It is not easy to understand what this movie is about. But one thing is clear. There are certain memories that are in the minds of Leah. Well into the distant future. And the AI works at clearing off those memories, creating an unique noir fateful spectacle...A one-of-a-kind movie, hard to describe. This is not entertainment, this is stream of consciousness prose.

15.5/20

The Civilized Wild

 Wikipedia prefaces The Wild Robot as a survival film. I think it is a coming-of-age film. A robot – Rozzum (Roz) 7134 (Lupita Nyongo) is shipwrecked on an island wilderness. Looking for a controller, Roz figures out the ways of animals and their language too, but draws no empathy except from a somewhat conniving fox Fink (Pedro Pascal). An unlikely bond with a gosling – Brightbill (Kit Connor) – leads to the formal definition of a mission objective – to teach Brightbill to eat, to swim and to fly – in other words to be a parent. But bringing up a gosling much like bringing up a human child is no easy task, and both the robot regimen as well as the formative gosling undergo a makeover and find some true sense of purpose and lives well led. An interesting watch, expectedly heartwarming, good for a break, not a Dreamworks masterpiece

14.5/20

The Revisitation

Someone said that the greatness of the Alien franchise lies in continuous re-invention. Alien Romulus is an installment after some gap - in 2142 a space probe investigates what looks like the abandoned USCSS Nostromo. As expected they run into the xenomorphs at some point - what you perhaps do not expect are a young protagonist (Rain - Cailee Spaeny) who is trying to escape the servitude of her current assignment and escape to the planet Yvaga, a synth (Andy - David Jonsson) with the calmest of demeanors that belies its cold calculating self, and Rook - a synth aboard the spacecraft with an exceedingly conflicted primary directive. I do not recall the Alien franchise - not Gravity - demonstrating the law of conservation of linear momentum to dodge xenomorph acid in zero gravity stasis. Also the last fifteen or so minutes traverse an entirely different genre - perhaps a new strain of sci fi mutant horror in the series. This is no Doom or Quake style FPS through the corridors of a spacecraft. It is less frenetic, more deliberative, no less ruthless and amoral, and in the end also a survival story with a fresh cast, fresh science and a fresh outlook

16.5/20

Mira-cles

The sleeper hit you know nothing about. Lera (Veronica Ustimova) on earth, with her father Valeri (Anatoliy Beliy) in space. A meteor shower gone all wrong in Eastern Siberia. Lera fights for her life instructed by her father from the space station . Mira is a no holds barred massacre on earth, teenage angst, survival and self discovery. On Prime Video and a must watch for sci fi fans. And yes IMDB ratings aren't everything - especially for a Russian movie 🙃

16.5/20

Finding Character

Finding oneself is a journey, and even Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) hides low self-esteem and ADHD behind layers and layers of trash talk. A used car salesman with all of nine people in his life – Deadpool gets transported to a different timeline to find the Anchor Being (Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)) – however the instance of the multiverse where this rather tenuous association between Deadpool and Wolverine is to be is called the Void – a Mad Max-esque (with credits) world where one Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) turns out to be the arch-villain. With many other characters such as X23 (Dafne Keen), Elektra (Jennifer Garner), The Human Torch (Chris Evans) and Gambit (Channing Tatum) in tow. Adequately entertaining, with a reasonable storyline and engaging renditions of 70’s and 80’s music (think Like a Prayer to Time of Your Life), this is saving the hackneyed Marvel franchise – for now. As with the multiverse and our timeline in the story. High marks for energy

15.5/20

Please let Anxiety go

Here I was in the movie hall, overcome with emotion, thinking of how universal a correlation between retaining all your memories - good and bad - and coping skills i.e. not being overwhelmed with anxiety - is. Anxiety is a keeper - its protective instinct is just as strong as joy and/ or anger. But coupled with the other new cast of characters post-puberty - ennui, jealousy, disgust, embarrassment - anxiety is just about the one thing that becomes too much to cope with - whether you are a parent or a child. And sometimes in the face of a lot of new real-world emotions on the way to adulthood, we need to find more of our childhood selves including coming to terms with our failures and the possibilities therein - to learn to cope and to believe that we are not only "good persons" but that we come in many shades and that it is ok. Inside Out 2 is a brilliant watch and Disney hits it out of the park by extending the "sadness" attribute to "anxiety" - and a lot more nuanced and with no loss of universality

17.5/20

Face your Fears

So you want to watch a horror movie. Not all of us are able or willing to commit a few hours, step out to (not exactly family stuff), savour some slow and ominous buildup, and duly get freaked out multiple times. Where is the space for the quick horror fix? the one that looks for the fear that is inherent in daily life? How do you feel when you are the sole person, in the dead of the night, in a train compartment, and alight in a deserted station? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue0sTfVaeTw) How well can you trust in the early days of a relationship? Who is freaking out whom? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wghdBOIH6sA) Who else is the third wheel with amorous roommates? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXQhcKk7Q2c) What if the worst fears over a date came true (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8Mpv5QvhIg) ... and what if you cannot even imagine what a "bad date" can be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzVyCuvj1_s)... It is in the mastery of the mundane - the mild fear turning into an unspeakable terror - that creators on Alter (https://www.youtube.com/@WatchALTER) and Screamfest (https://www.youtube.com/@screamfestla) - Youtube channels - excel. Do you scratch when you itch? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toeG9OWeqdU&t=664s) Do you let in trick-or-treating children in hoodies? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zipj8eXcclk). Highly recommend getting out of the comfort zone, making good use of free time as opposed to long essays, and supporting some truly inspired if unknown creators

16.5/20

The Sound of Silence

Lupita Nyongo is a sublime transcendental acting talent in A Quiet Place Day One. The sheer terror of an alien attack, the empathy for a pet (Frodo the cat) and for strangers, the all too human search for pizza in a dying world, the desperate scream with thunder in the background, the acceptance of one's lot and the ultimate sacrifice - she packs it all in in what often appears to be a solo performance. Eric (Joseph Quinn) does no disservice to his role as the harried student who overcomes his fear of water and does the rescue - while Samira (Sam aka Lupita) makes the ultimate sacrifice - to the soundtrack of Feeling Good (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeling_Good). It is not a particularly harrowing nor easy watch, but the thespian skills of the lead set it apart

16.5/20

Not so Silent night

Beth (Rebecca Hall) mourns the loss of her husband Owen... and continues a lonely life in a house in the backwoods. Till she comes across Owen's phone - and suspects an affair. But that's not quite it. The women slightly resemble Beth but not quite. And the visions - the increasing supernatural presences in the Night House - are for real. The Night House is a carefully crafted and genuinely eerie movie with a storyline that is not necessarily the easiest to guess - and even if you do, the scares are real

15/20

All the Demons in the World

 "No One Will Save You" - if there was any ambiguity as to the tonality of the movie perish the thought !! The finality in the title is real. Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever) lives alone in a suburban home... appears disconnected and ostracized by the community at large. Along comes an alien break-in, with an all-out dash for survival, possessed humans, telekinesis, and - here is the interesting bit - the mind control device that shows Brynn's chequered past with Maude - the girl in her care whom she ended up killing. A tough gritty and anything but a feelgood movie that does not end on any triumphant note - this is quite a find - the demons of our lives are not just aliens who might invade, but perhaps the demons from our past as well

15.5/20

On a day like today

Yesterday Delhi hit 52.3 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature ever recorded in India. And yesterday I saw Mad Max Furiosa - the origin story. Anya Taylor Joy is Viking and fearsome with a ruthlessness that is a generation above Charlize Theron and her Marine style crew cut purposefulness. The casting is impeccable - Immortan Joe, Praetorian Jack, and the Jack Sparrow vibes Dr Dementus. Furiosa is stolen from the crib, brought up with marauders, hustles her way to being a dogman at the Citadel and finally with the mentorship of Praetorian Jack finds her shot at the Green Place. The Fury Road run is a class apart 

16.5/20

Dystopia for real people

Greenland left me rattled. There is no access that the nondescript suburban family of John (Gerard Butler), Allison (Morena Baccarin) and kid Nathan have to privileged information or outlandish efforts to save the Earth. They simply protect their own, run from natural perils and predatory people, lose each other and find each other again... Scary detachments and psychotic people and a controlled rhythm of natural calamities that look unnervingly real. This movie will freak you out

16/20